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Drugstore Cowboy

We had some unusual police action here in sleepy little Redmond the other day. A man actually robbed a local drug store at gun point. (We’re talking 8 blocks from my house). We normally have a crime rate equivalent to Mayberry USA, so this was somewhat surprising and disconcerting to local residents. There were two notable facts related to this crime worth passing along: 1) The guy with the gun was famed criminal James Fogle. In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, they made a movie about him back in 1989 called “Drugstore Cowboy” starring Matt Dillon. 2) Believe it or not, the Redmond police caught the guy. I don’t mean to reflect negatively on the Redmond police, but I can’t help imagining the reaction of this hardened, life-long criminal when a bug-eyed Barney P. Fife, gun drawn, knees shaking, burst into the drugstore.

Some additional Redmond crime trivia: What other infamous criminal (who also had a movie made about him) once lived in our beloved town? Henry Hill, the gangster turned snitch who took down the Gambino crime family. The Martin Scorsese film GoodFellas was made about him, starring Ray Liota as Henry. The FBI relocated him here while in the witness protection program. He later became the first person kicked out of the witness protection program for numerous crimes throughout the greater Seattle area.